


Anniversary

by Please No Portraits (GothAlbinoAngel)



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:35:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23370103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothAlbinoAngel/pseuds/Please%20No%20Portraits
Summary: Anon asked: 8. “Is that blood?” “…..No?”   Maybe some of that good ol’ angst / hurt comfort for Jane and Kat?orKit's having a rough week remembering what tomorrow is. Jane is there for her to confide in.
Relationships: Katherine Howard & Jane Seymour
Comments: 5
Kudos: 95





	Anniversary

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to use younger!Kit for this one, similar to the the ‘[Kitty’s in high school, Jane’s dating her chem teacher](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23021137)’ request. I got a little hurt/comfort and Kit angst in there. Hope you like it!
> 
>  **Nicknames:** Kit - Howard, the Castle - Aragon's house  
>  **Ages:** Kit - 14/15, Jane - 20/21

Kit plodded through the halls with the same lackluster attitude she’d had all week. She hated this week. It always made her feel terrible. She got snippy with everyone and closed herself off even more than usual whenever this week came around. It didn’t help her mood that this week was also spirit week at school. While most of everyone was joking and laughing about costume days, and some of them grumbled about ‘school spirit’ being a farce, Kit just wanted everything to be over.

The halls cleared out fairly quickly once the last bell rang. Athletes, clubs, and kids who got detention were still around, but for the most part, the halls were empty. Kit slipped her textbooks from her locker and made her way for the school exit.

The air was crisp and warm, indicating summer’s quick approach. Usually, Kit would stop to bask in the atmosphere a little, but she didn’t feel like it today. She just wanted to hole up in her room and ignore everything.

She didn’t live that far from the school. Walking was rarely a problem now that she didn’t have to make the trek to her grandmother’s house. Instead, it was a few short blocks to Anne’s house. Not far enough for Kit to get into trouble.

Well, normally.

Some of the other kids from school walked home, too, and avoiding them was a chore when walking along a semi-busy street. So, Kit was forced to trudge past them while they lounged around the fence of one of the neighborhood houses. She tried to be quick, to ignore them as she had everything else.

No such luck.

“Hey, check it out,” one of the boys, Damon, snickered as Kit came into view. “It’s the Holland family reject.”

“Don’t be like that, Damon,” the other boy, Chris, huffed, punching him lightly on the shoulder. “Not her fault her family didn’t want her.”

“Can’t see why they would,” one of the girls, Hannah? scoffed as she looked over a notebook. “Antisocial creep. I mean, have you _seen_ her the last few days? She’s just staring off into space for no reason. I’d get rid of her as soon as I could.”

Kit’s jaw clenched, but she continued on her path. They weren’t obstructing her, so everything would be fine. She just needed to move faster. Get away from them and everyone else.

“I think they dropped her because, I mean, they’ve got plenty of other, cooler kids in the family,” a different girl, Stephanie, jumped in. “Why have the screwup when you have people like her older brother?”

“Probably why her mom bailed,” Damon laughed. “Realized she had a bad egg and peaced so she didn’t have to see it rot.”

Honestly, Kit should have seen this coming. Nothing ever goes quite right during this week any other year, so why would this year be any different? She turned to retort, she really did. She didn’t care what they said about her or her family, but _no one_ soiled the name of her mother.

Unfortunately, no words came to mind, so she did the next best thing. Her fist connected solidly with Damon’s cheek, making him stumble off the fence. Anne had taught her how to properly punch someone, so he was dazed for a bit. His friends weren’t though.

“Hey! What’s the deal!” Chris exclaimed, moving over to help his friend up.

The girls headed for Kit. Hannah threw a punch that Kit dodged, but Stephanie’s caught her mouth. Kit tasted metal on her tongue, but she ignored that and kicked Stephanie in the shin. She went down and Kit swung her foot at Hannah, too. Hannah slid backward, out of the way, and Kit pressed forward, sending a punch to her stomach.

Turning back to the boys, Kit found Chris holding up his hands. “Whoa, easy. We don’t want any trouble.”

“Don’t talk about stuff you don’t know anything about,” Kit huffed. She widened her stride as she stormed away. She just wanted to get home as soon as she could. She hated this week. _Hated_ it.

Jane lifted another grilled cheese from the skillet, setting it on the plate with the others. That should be enough to keep Kit occupied until Anne could make it home to make dinner. She looked up at the sound of the front door opening and flinched when it slammed. Well, that wouldn’t do.

Peeking into the hallway, she spotted Kit taking her shoes off by the door and cleared her throat. Kit’s head snapped up and Jane took in her appearance. There was some bruising on her cheek and… was that…?

Jane stepped out into the hall and slowly walked closer. Kit wasn’t as familiar with Jane as Anne was. It hadn’t been that long since Anne gained custody of her, so Jane tried to appear nonthreatening. “Hey, Kitty,” she called.

“Hi, Jane,” Kit said in a quiet voice. She was always so quiet. It was hard to believe she was related to Anne. “Are you visiting Annie?”

“Anne actually asked me to watch you today,” Jane explained. Now that she was closer, she could see a small dribble of blood on Kit’s lip. What on earth? “Something came up at the theatre and she didn’t want you to be home by yourself.”

Kit nodded to show she understood. That made sense. Anne knew she hated being alone. Too often, she’d been left alone in the house. Or, well, _mostly_ alone…

“Um, Kit?” Jane asked. Kit glanced up at her. “Is that blood?”

Kit reached up to wipe at her lip. Right. Stephanie got her in the mouth. She didn’t want to worry someone about it. “…no?” she tried.

Jane’s eyebrow raised and Kit knew she wasn’t buying it. “Kitty, you’ve got a bruise on your cheek. And it looks like your lip is split. Did someone hit you?”

“Yes,” Kit mumbled, lowering her head.

“What happened?” Jane inquired in as soft a voice as she could.

“Some kids were talking about… stuff. I punched one of them. One of them punched me. I kicked her in the shin.” Kit knew it was a watered down version, but she really did just want to go upstairs and sulk.

“What were they talking about?” Jane pressed, gesturing for Kit to follow her into the kitchen. “Were they making fun of you?”

Kit shrugged. “Sorta. They were talking about my family.”

Jane gave a noncommittal hum as she set the plate of grilled cheese on the table and filled a pot with water. “That’s hardly any of their business,” she said after a while. “What happened with your family is the business of those involved and anyone those who were involved decide to confide in.” She set the pot on the stove and turned the dial to ‘high’. “You’re safe now,” she added in a quieter voice. “That’s what matters.”

“It’s not that I cared,” Kit muttered, laying her head on her arms. That grilled cheese smelled good… “I don’t care what they have to say about my family. I just… didn’t like…”

Jane noticed the way she trailed off and looked over. “What were they talking about, Kit?” she asked.

Kit hated how her lip trembled, how her voice shook when she answered. “They… they mentioned… my mom…”

Silence filled the air. Jane watched Kit carefully. She didn’t know too much about Kit’s backstory. The most she knew was what Anne had stormed into the Castle ranting furiously about. It didn’t mention Kit’s mother too much, just mentioning that she’d passed and it had been Edmund’s job to watch over _all_ of his children.

Jane knew she needed to proceed delicately, since it was obviously a touchy subject for Kit. “Did they… insult her?”

Kit bit her lip, ignoring the sting, and stared at the table. It wasn’t right that she had to put all of this on a relative stranger. It was her problem, her issues, her-.

_“Hey,” Anne said softly. “We’re here for you, you know? It doesn’t matter if you think it’s not a big deal or something. You can talk to us about this stuff. We’ll listen. You deserve that much and so much more.”_

Hoping against hope that her cousin wasn’t lying, Kit took in a slow breath. “Um… they said my mom… died… to get away from me…”

Jane stiffened. Well _that_ was certainly uncalled for! “How disrespectful,” she snarled under her breath. “Making light of anyone’s death is rude enough, but to claim a mother died just so she could get away from her child is disgraceful.” Her mind flashed back, all those centuries ago, realizing she was dying and that she wouldn’t even get to see her baby boy grow up.

Kit stared up at her, teeth digging into her split lip. “Don’t listen to them, Kit,” Jane cooed, dropping some teabags into the pot before stepping toward the table. “I didn’t know her personally, but from the way Anne talks about her, I know your mother was a wonderful, caring woman. I’m certain she wouldn’t have left you and your siblings if given the choice. It’s not your fault and those kids should learn to mind their manners.”

Tears slipped down Kit’s cheeks and her gaze returned to the table. “I don’t think I would’ve cared so much if-.” She choked the words back, forced them down. Only her family knew…

“If…?” Jane pressed gently, urging her on.

“Tomorrow’s the anniversary,” Kit whispered, a sob filtering from her lips.

“Oh sweetheart…” Jane moved closer and held up her arms. Anne had informed all of them how Kit responded to sudden physical contact. Jane didn’t want to force it on her. It was her choice to hug or not. Tentatively, Kit stood and curled into Jane’s hug. “I’m sorry, Kit,” Jane sighed, stroking Kit’s hair. “I’m sorry you had to even go through that. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you.”

Soft sobs shook Kit’s shoulders and Jane held her, stroking her hair and her back to soothe her. The hug felt nice, closer to how it felt when Anne hugged her than the rest of her family’s stiff hugs. Kit liked nice hugs.

When the tears started to slow, Jane took a deep breath. “Do you… do you know where she’s buried?” she asked hesitantly.

“St. Michael’s Orthodox and Union Cemetery.” _Seventh row from the south entrance, fourth column from the east entrance, marked by a faded marble gravestone with a small orb atop it._ Kit knew the location by heart. She visited as often as she could, even while living a few miles away.

“Okay, well… since tomorrow is the anniversary, how about we go visit her after you get out of school?” Jane suggested.

“You’ll take me?” Kit stared up at her in something akin to awe.

Jane shrugged. “I don’t see why not. We can stop by that flower vendor on main street for you to pick out a bouquet to give her. I’m sure she would like some flowers.”

Kit bit her lip and shuffled, pulling away from Jane. “What- what do you-”

Jane shook her head immediately. “I don’t want anything from you, Kit,” she hurried to explain. “I don’t want anything. I want to do this because… it might make you feel a little better to… be able to visit her.” Jane gave a small smile. “It’s not much, but I want to be able to help whenever I can…”

There was a beat, and then, “…thank you.”

“Think nothing of it,” Jane reassured her. “I’ll stop here tomorrow and we can go.”

“Promise?” Kit asked.

“Promise.” Jane held out her pinkie and Kit tentatively hooked her own pinkie with Jane’s. “There, now it’s set in stone.” A small smile flickered over Kit’s lips. “Now, why don’t you grab some grilled cheese? I would hate for Anne to come home and think I didn’t feed you. I’ll make us both a mug of tea.”

Kit settled back at the table and reached for a grilled cheese. No one had ever offered to take her to her mother’s grave except her older brother, Shaun. She hadn’t seen him in years, though. As she watched Jane dole the tea into mugs, Kit wondered if, maybe, she might be able to find a new family in Anne’s friends, a better one.

**Author's Note:**

> The ~~Howards~~ Hollands suck. Kit deserves a better family. Thankfully, Anne and Co. are here for her. They're all the family she needs.


End file.
